Hummingbirds - Photos - Tracking the Hummer
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Picture source:
Pats Backyard Bird Cam © 2002-2004
Patricia Velte
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Hummingbirds have been posing interest for people for as long as they have been known to mankind. Birdwatchers always strove to calculate flight speed and the number of wing beats per second. It is also interesting how hummingbirds can manage to perform such extraordinary tricks of aerobatics.
H. Ross Hawkins, the founder of the Hummingbird Society, was the first man to track the figure-eight motion of the hummingbird's wings. Crawford H. Greenwalt, a dedicated birdwatcher and an ardent photographer, designed a camera that reacted when a bird got into a beam of light, thus activating the camera. The image of a bird remained on a photocell. This devise allowed Greenwalt to make a set of pictures and calculate the approximate number of wing flaps.
However, that was not the end of Mr. Greenwalt's work. He also intended to calculate the bird's flight speed. To do so, he made a wind tunnel, placing a fan at one end and a feeder at the other. When a hummingbird got into the tunnel, he started the fan and used different speed regimes. Hummingbirds flew in various manners in the face of the air stream.
The structure of a hummer's feather is another intrigue. Scientists discovered tiny faceted air bubbles which, due to light refraction, produced a wonderful metallic shining that may change colors depending on light angulations.
Hummingbirds - Photos - Attracting a Hummer
As a matter of fact, it is not too difficult to attract hummingbirds to your garden, providing that there are enough sappy and bright flowers, trees and bushes. Feeders should also be brightly colored. Red color is more likely to attract hummingbirds within a short period of time. It is more efficient to fix feeders near flowerbeds and bushes. Hummingbirds are less likely to appear in feeders during nesting periods.
Hummingbirds - Photos - Links
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Picture source:
Pats Backyard Bird Cam © 2002-2004
Patricia Velte
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Attracting Hummingbirds - Information on feeders and recipes to attract the Hummingbird.
Birds - Everything About Hummingbirds - Links to sites about the species.
Birds of Stanford - Allen's Hummingbirds - Presents icons that indicate various aspects of the species' reproduction and feeding ecology. Find essays on Hummingbird flight and foraging.
Birds of Stanford - Anna's Hummingbirds - Read of the bird's courtship displays and flight. Photo shows the striking coloration of its head.
Birds of Stanford - Rufous Hummingbirds - Image highlights the green, red, and orange head of the species. Touches on its diet and nest type.
Chloe's Hummingbird Page - General information, sounds, and photos of Hummingbirds in the western United States.
Costa's Hummingbird Nests - Notes and photos of Costa's Hummingbirds nesting in a patio lamp in Ridgecrest, California.
Debbie's Tips For Attracting and Feeding Hummingbirds - Nectar recipe and instructions on feeder cleaning, preferred plants and where to place your nectar feeder.
Free Hummingbird Flower Seeds for Hummingbirds - If you like watching hummingbirds and growing flowers, this is the right place for you.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hummingbirds - How do Hummingbirds eat? Hummingbird flight, Hummingbird song, Hummingbird gorgets, and fun facts about Hummingbirds.
Humming Bird Information - Hummingbird basics: an incredible metabolism, birds of a different feather, mating and raising young, and Hummingbird feeding.
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Picture source:
Pats Backyard Bird Cam © 2002-2004
Patricia Velte
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Hummingbird Gardens - Lists of regional plants to attract Hummingbirds, and information on water and misting.
Hummingbirds - Little Birds with Big Appeal - Hummingbirds include the smallest birds in the world but they belong to one of the largest families of birds.
Hummingbirds - thumb-sized, delightful - When one considers that hummingbirds are not much bigger than a thumb and how adept they are at avoiding humans, some idea can be gained as to why they are so difficult to see at close quarters.
Hummingbirds Forever - a Nature Store for the Hummingbird Lover - Gifts for hummingbird lovers.
Hummingbirds of the World - Photos of different hummingbird species.
Invite Hummers to Your Garden - Jewels of the bird kingdom, Hummingbirds beguile us with their glorious colors and remarkable acrobatics.
Legends & folklore of Birds: Hummingbirds - A good site for hummingbird lovers.
New Jersey Audubon Society - How to create a butterfly and Hummingbird garden, by Patricia Sutton.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) - Photo, range maps, physical traits, habitat, and diet of this species.
Trochilids - Hummingbird Projects - Winter western Hummingbird reports from Mississippi, Louisiana, and the eastern US, with extensive links to additional information.
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center - Broad-billed Hummingbird - Learn how to distinguish the male and female of this species. See photos and read about this bird's breeding habitat and diet.
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Ctr - Violet-crowned Hummingbird - Learn identification tips and the taxonomy of this bird. Read about its habitat and diet and view a photo.
Hummingbirds - Photos - Other Hummingbirds sites
Hummingbirds - Hummingbirds are called so for the sound that they produce during a flight. These are one of the most amazing birds on earth and are famous for their variety of colorations and speed of wings. It is believed that the species originated from insect-eating swift-like birds that inhabited the northern Andes Mountains of South America.
Nowadays, Hummingbirds are found in North, Central, and South America. The density is greater in areas that are closer to the equator. The Hummingbird inhabits almost all zones including tropical forests and deserts. Earlier, they were extensively hunted because of their feathers. Yet, people soon realized that there is a danger of extinction for this species. Nowadays, Hummingbirds are becoming well adapted to living near humans. However, about 9 species remain critically endangered.
Hummingbirds Pictures - Hummingbirds populate both American continents, and can be found in every place from Brazil and Argentina and through to Canada and Alaska. There are as many as 350 species of hummingbirds, which reside in the jungle, deserts, temperate woods and grassfields, and even in towns and cities. This tiny bird belongs to the family, Trochilidae, and it has been a matter of particular interest for scientists ever since the times of man's first encounters with it.
Native Americans extolled and worshiped the bird. Mayan aborigines believed that the hummingbird was the incarnation of the sun. Ancient Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli, the mightiest god, had sprung from a hummingbird feather ball that had descended from heaven.
Hummingbirds Pictures - Hummingbirds are enigmatic and wonderful creations of the world. They live in the western hemisphere. The image of the hummingbird was firmly imprinted in the minds of Indians and other Native American tribes, who believed that hummingbirds were sent to the earth by gods to guard people against evil spirits. Ancient Aztecs even believed that their most powerful god had come out of a hummingbird feather ball that had come down from the sky.
For modern people this miniature dashing speedster of a bird is also a wonder. The plumage has the remarkable property of changing color in various ways at various angulations of the falling sunlight. These are the only birds that can fly in uncountable numbers of manners. Have you ever seen a bird that can fly sideways, backwards, upwards or even upside down? They even have the ability to stay aloft in the air without moving in the space.
